Spatial Diffusion

Abstract

This study is concerned with the spread of pharmaceuticals between countries. In the jargon of economics, the topic is the spatial diffusion of Pharmaceuticals. The purpose is to identify the major factors influencing the time taken for drugs to spread around the world. Delay in the arrival of pharmaceuticals, especially those involving major therapeutic advance, is a cause for concern. The non-appearance or long-deferred arrival of new treatments may have a marked impact on the human and material welfare of an economy.1 The interest stimulated by the ‘drug lag’2 studies investigating the comparative performance of the USA and UK in the introduction of new pharmaceuticals, is indicative of a concern for greater understanding of the mechanisms of spatial diffusion. The present study is an attempt to add to knowledge of the process.

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See for example: W. M. Wardell, ‘The Drug Lag: an International Comparison’, Proceedings of the Fifth International Pharmacological Congress (July 1972); Wardell, ‘Introduction of New Therapeutic Drugs in the United States and Great Britain: An International Comparison’, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, vol. 14, no. 5 (Sept.-Oct. 1973) pp. 773–90; Wardell, The Drug Lag Revisited: Comparison by Therapeutic Area of Patterns of Drugs marketed in the United States and Great Britain from 1972–1976’, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, vol. 24, no. 5 (Nov. 1978) pp. 499–524.Google Scholar